Tarek Chouiref
31 August 2026•Update: 31 August 2026
Israel has ordered the deportation of a British activist who was seized by armed Israeli occupiers in the southern occupied West Bank and held against his will before being handed over to police, Haaretz reported Sunday.
The Israeli daily cited lawyer Inbar Shaked Vardi as saying Finn Joughin was taken Saturday from the Palestinian village of Umm al-Khair in Masafer Yatta and locked in a shed for about a half hour.
Israeli police initially sought to extend his detention Sunday but later withdrew the request and ordered his immediate deportation, according to the report.
Vardi said Joughin had been taking part in a protective presence initiative and was trying to protect Palestinian property when armed occupiers assaulted and detained him.
“Despite clear documentation of the assault, Israel police chose to arrest the activist,” she said, adding that, to her knowledge, the attackers were not questioned.
Haaretz said police investigated Joughin after an Israeli occupier filed a complaint accusing him of committing an indecent act against a minor.
Vardi strongly denied the allegation, saying footage circulated online showed her client trying to protect the village during the confrontation.
An Israeli solidarity group active in the South Hebron Hills said occupiers had been harassing Palestinians in the area and trying to seize cameras and phones from people documenting the incident.
The group said Joughin was grabbed and dragged away without provocation or resistance.
The British government has sought information from Israeli authorities about the case, Haaretz reported.
A UK Foreign Office spokesperson said officials at the British Embassy in Tel Aviv had raised the case with Israeli authorities and were seeking further information.
The occupied West Bank has seen a dramatic surge in Israeli military activity, along with attacks by Israeli occupiers, since Israel launched its genocidal war on the Gaza Strip in October 2023.
The escalation has been accompanied by the expansion of illegal Israeli settlement outposts throughout the West Bank and increased restrictions on the movement of Palestinian residents.